GCSE Design and Technology
Learners type short and extended answers in an on-screen examination. In a 40 hour design project worth 70% they write a design brief and specification, annotate and justify ideas, and evaluate their prototype using feedback from users. Numeracy is practical and constant: accurate measuring and marking out within tolerances in every pathway, costing and material estimates in Fashion and Textiles, and formula-based mechanical and electronic calculations in Engineering Design. The single biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is precise measuring in millimetres against a stated tolerance, followed by a written evaluation that uses test results and user comments as evidence.
- First taught
- September 2026
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the WJEC specification (PDF)
How this GCSE is assessed
- Unit 1: Design and Technology in the 21st Century: Digital (on-screen) examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 30%, 80 marks
- Unit 2: Design Project: Non-examination assessment, approximately 40 hours, 70%, 100 marks
Skills that use Vocabulary, spelling, grammar
-
Technical vocabulary for materials, systems and processes
The content is dense with subject terms that learners must read, spell and use accurately, such as thermochromic, shape memory alloys, anthropometrics, biomimicry, velocity ratio, grain lines and datum faces.
Literacy: Vocabulary, spelling, grammar, Reading strategies, Clarity and vocabulary
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils keep a workshop glossary of ten tool and material words, such as tenon saw, pine and MDF, and spell them correctly in their project labels.
- Year 8
- Pupils break 'thermochromic' and 'photochromic' into word roots, then use both words correctly in labelled sketches of a smart-material product.
- Year 9
- Pupils take a weekly spelling and definition quiz on GCSE terms such as anthropometrics, ergonomics and biomimicry, then use three of them on an annotated design sheet.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, 1.1.2, page 10; Unit 1, 1.1.5, page 13
“about developments in modern and smart materials”
Progression step 3
I can use varied, appropriate and precise vocabulary including area of learning and experience/discipline-specific words for different purposes.
I can use strategies to correctly spell polysyllabic, complex and irregular words in the context of each area of learning and experience.
I can use a range of strategies to make meaning from words and sentences, including:
- knowledge of phonics
- word roots
- word families
- syntax
- text organisation
- prior knowledge of context.
Progression step 4
I have experienced a range of area of learning and experience/discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary, and can use them in my own communication.
I can use a variety of strategies and resources to spell familiar and unfamiliar vocabulary and area of learning and experience/discipline-specific words correctly.
I have experienced a range of area of learning and experience/discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary, and can use them in my own communication.
Progression step 5
I can use a range of discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary accurately and precisely.
I can use strategies to spell discipline-specific and general academic words in appropriate contexts.
I can use a range of discipline-specific and general academic vocabulary in my own communication.
Good to know
- Unit 1 is typed on screen, not handwritten: "Digital examination: 1 hour 30 minutes" (Summary of assessment, page 4).
- The specification does not mention marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. The four assessment objectives cover knowledge, application, developing designs and analysing and evaluating, and "The Assessment Pack will include all detailed information relating to assessment." (Assessment, page 43).
- The specification does not say whether a calculator is allowed in the on-screen examination, although Engineering Design learners must "calculate ohms law" (Unit 1, 1.1.9, page 17). Check the Assessment Pack.
- Formula-based calculations are for one pathway only: "This area of study is relevant to learners that have chosen Engineering Design as their pathway." (Unit 1, 1.1(a), page 14). Costing from standard fabric widths sits in Fashion and Textiles (Unit 1, 1.1.18, page 23).
- The design project is "Non-examination assessment: Approximately 40 hours", worth 70% and 100 marks (page 4). AO4, analyse and evaluate, is 20% of the qualification and is assessed only in Unit 2 (page 43).
- Written notes, presentations and mathematical modelling are listed "for example" (Unit 2, 2.1.4, pages 34 to 35), which the specification says "indicates that the specified content is for guidance only" (page 8). No word limits are stated.
Links with other GCSEs
Ohm's law and moments overlap with The Sciences, gear ratios, scale drawing and tolerances with Mathematics and Numeracy, and product analysis and evaluative writing with English Language and Literature, so shared methods and vocabulary would help pupils.
Source: WJEC GCSE Design and Technology specification, Approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from 2026, for award from 2028 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2025).